Speaker Mahara tells govt to make Lal commission report public without delay

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal lawmaker Raj Kishor Yadav speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives, in Kathmandu, on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Photo: RSS

Kathmandu, March 13

The Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, which recently withdrew support to the government, obstructed the first meeting of the House of Representatives to protest the government’s failure to make Girish Chandra Lal-led probe commission’s report public even after so many months.

The commission led by Lal had submitted its report to the government on 15 December 2017 after probing the incidents of human rights violation and violence committed during Madhes and Tharuhat movements in 2015 and 2016.

Despite demands from the RJP-N, the government has not made the report public.

As soon as the meeting of the HoR started at 12:00pm today, RJP-N lawmakers stood from their seats to obstruct the House proceedings following which Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara allowed RJP-N presidium member Raj Kishor Yadav to speak.

Yadav criticised the government for not making the probe commission’s report public even after so many months and urged Speaker Mahara to issue a ruling to the government, telling it to make the report public without further delay.

Immediately, after Yadav finished his speech in the House, RJP-N lawmakers stood from their seats again to stall the House proceedings following which the speaker adjourned the House proceedings for 30 minutes.

RJP-N lawmakers stalled the House proceedings again in the second meeting of the House following which Speaker Mahara issued a ruling to the government to make Lal commission report public as soon as possible. Speaker Mahara’s ruling pacified RJP-N lawmakers who then ended
their obstruction.

The government had formed the commission on 18 September 2016 to investigate into the killings and violent incidents that took place during protests in the Tarai. The commission had begun its investigation on October 17.

The probe commission had prepared the report after visiting the incident sites and holding interaction with witnesses, victims’ families and rights activists.

The commission had also held interactions with intelligentsia in Tikapur, Janakpur, Rajbiraj and Biratnagar.

A version of this article appears in print on March 14, 2019 of The Himalayan Times.